Glass (2019) Review

Folks who have followed my movie posts in the past know that I am an M. Night Shyamalan… fan? Maybe “fan” isn’t really right, but for some odd reason I have to see any movie he makes. I don’t understand it, I have sought help, but it’s still a compulsion I can’t resist.

With that, Shyamalan has made it easier with his last couple of movies (Split, The Visit) to not be embarrassed about looking forward to his latest movie, Glass.

Warning! While I am careful about spoilers for the movie I am reviewing, this movie is part of a trilogy that includes Split and Unbreakable. I will be freely talking about those films so if you haven’t seen them, well, shame on you!

Back to Glass.

Unbreakable and Split have some similar themes. Both movies have you wondering if the special abilities of the two characters are real or imagined. They both end with you realizing that they actually do have special abilities, and that they are super human. Glass seemed like it was trying to do the opposite. To make the characters realize that they are not super-human. I can get that as a theme but the part that left me a little flat was the characters starting to doubt themselves. I would think that after this many years of using their abilities it would be pretty difficult to convince them otherwise.

Part of what made this movie enjoyable to me was that they were able to bring back the main actors: Samuel L Jackson, Bruce Willis and James McAvoy. What really helped tie the movies together is that they also brought back the supporting characters as well. Spencer Treat Clark who played Willis’ son in Unbreakable, Anya Taylor-Joy who was the survivor in Split and Charlayne Woodard who played Jackson’s mother in Unbreakable. It definitely felt like part of a cohesive trilogy and not some cobbled-together story.

They kept up the comic book parallels from Unbreakable, even to the point of giving the characters comic book like names. Willis’ character is called the “Overseer,” McAvoy is the “Horde” and of course Jackson is “Mr. Glass.”

There was a point in the movie where I thought the comic book links were too contrived but by the end they made total sense.

One of weaknesses in a lot of the Shyamalan films is the way they end. I mean, in Signs, the alien’s weakness is water? Why would they invade a planet where 3/4 of it is covered in a deadly substance that often falls from the sky? This movie ended a little flat for me. I would have liked to see what the impact of the events of the movie caused later as they hint that it causes major changes. Maybe setting up for future movies or TV show? I can see a TV series that takes place in this world.

If you enjoyed Unbreakable and Split then I would say this is a must see. This movie isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but I really enjoyed it.

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About The Author

MoAs someone who barely manages to squeeze in as a GenXer my memories include more of the 70's than those younger GenXers. Reading and movies are my passions with some video gaming thrown in there for good measure!